I'm Afraid I Won't Be Able to Leave

Chapter 163: Chapter 163: I’m Not an Idiot

”!!!”

Sheila Hughes’s neck went stiff as she turned around, only then discovering Asher Keating in the back seat, head bowed over his laptop.

Asher Keating replied indifferently, ”No need.”

It was the weekend. Shawn Grant had opened a new winery at the beginning of the month and invited them for a wine tasting. Asher Keating hadn’t wanted to go at first—he had just returned from a business trip. But he agreed, thinking he might hear some news about Leah Sinclair if he went.

Ethan Shaw was coming from Silverwood, so he picked him up along the way. Sheila Hughes, however, had assumed Asher Keating would be driving himself. After getting in the car, she was too busy crunching numbers to notice him in the back seat at all.

”Ha... ha. Hello, Third Master Keating.”

Sheila Hughes greeted him awkwardly. Ever since Leah Sinclair went abroad, she hadn’t seen Asher Keating since the last time at Silverwood. She had only heard from Ethan Shaw that he was incredibly busy, always either on a business trip or in a meeting.

”Mm.”

Asher Keating glanced up in acknowledgement before looking back down at the files on his computer. He found, however, that he couldn’t seem to focus.

Thinking of what Leah Sinclair had just said, the corners of his lips quirked up. ’Leah with short hair,’ he thought. ’I’d really like to see that.’

While Sheila Hughes was internally debating whether or not to start a conversation, Leah Sinclair sent the photo over. The phone was still in Ethan Shaw’s hands. He tapped the picture open; it looked like Leah had just taken it.

Since she was sending it to Sheila Hughes, she hadn’t paid much mind to her appearance and had just snapped a casual shot. Sunlight from the window dappled her form, and she was pouting with a wronged look on her face.

In this state, Leah Sinclair looked strikingly similar to Mason Grant. But as she was a girl, she appeared all the more delicate and pretty.

Her hair... it really was short. Ethan Shaw reflexively touched his own. ’It’s about the same length as mine,’ he thought.

Suddenly, a hand reached over from behind and snatched the phone away.

The moment Asher Keating saw the photo, a smile touched his eyes. He forwarded the picture to himself before handing the phone back to Sheila Hughes. ”Don’t tell her.”

”Ah? Oh, oh, I understand.”

Sheila Hughes held her breath. ’Looks like I can’t use speakerphone in public anymore,’ she thought. ’That was mortifying.’ Never mind Asher Keating’s instruction; she wouldn’t have dared to tell Leah Sinclair anyway.

「At the winery.」

Chester Hale sat down beside Asher Keating, wine glass in hand. Asher was staring at his laptop, a slight frown on his face.

Chester Hale pushed his wine glass toward him and sighed. ”Come on, take a break. How long have you been this busy?”

Asher Keating took off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose. He picked up the glass and took a slow sip. He hadn’t stopped since Leah Sinclair left. He didn’t dare. ’This feeling of missing her... it’s torture.’

After a moment of silence, Chester Hale spoke. ”Nash told me a while back... that Leah Sinclair returning to Kingsford was actually Aunt Mabel’s idea.”

”I know. I’m not an idiot.” Asher Keating closed his eyes, resting.

Chester Hale smiled and shook his head. ’That’s true,’ he thought. With Asher Keating’s personality, if he hadn’t been willing to let Leah Sinclair go, not even the highest authority could have made him.

”So, how are things between you and Nash?” Asher Keating asked suddenly after a long silence, a hint of mischief in his tone.

”*Ahem.* I don’t know. She’s been avoiding me for the last few days for some reason.”

Chester Hale lit a cigarette, his gaze drifting to Nathan Grant in another corner of the room. He’d actually come looking for her, but the moment she saw him, she’d immediately ducked away.

Asher Keating opened his eyes, glanced at him, then at Nathan Grant in the distance. He smiled. ”What’s wrong? You kept your distance when she was chasing you, and now that she’s stopped, you’re the one moping about it?”

”...It’s not that. I just feel she shouldn’t be tied down to Riverfall.”

Nathan Grant’s personality was quite similar to Mabel Grant’s. More than a decade ago, Nathan had been pursued by a whole host of rich heirs in Riverfall. Morgan Sterling was one of them, but she only had eyes for Chester Hale, who wouldn’t give her the time of day.

At the time, Chester Hale was completely absorbed in his studies. He and Shawn Grant were in the same unfortunate boat, spending half of every year in and out of the hospital. Consequently, Shawn and Chester were closer to each other than to most others, and it was through Shawn that Nathan Grant got to know Chester Hale.

However, Nathan Grant was two years older than Chester Hale. The first time she confessed her feelings to him, Chester Hale... fled in a panic.

From then on, he constantly avoided Nathan Grant. Nathan was a proud woman, and after being rejected countless times, she left for Kingsford with Mason Grant. She only returned this year. In all that time, the two of them never once contacted each other.

Back then, everyone thought Chester Hale rejected Nathan Grant because she was older than him. But only he knew the truth: if they got together, she would inevitably stay in Riverfall for his sake, and her talents were meant for more than just Riverfall.

”Then what about your feelings for Leah Sinclair? You said before you liked her, didn’t you?” Asher Keating asked, raising an eyebrow.

”...Tsk. Still jealous?” Chester Hale shot him a sidelong glance.

”I’ve already talked to Nash about it. She analyzed the situation for me very thoroughly, and I think she had a point. As for Leah... I was definitely captivated by her at first, but it probably wasn’t ’like’ in a romantic sense. It was more like an older brother’s affection for a younger sister.”

Chester Hale hadn’t hidden his history with Leah Sinclair from Nathan Grant. He had told her directly that he’d once been captivated by Leah.

After he told Nathan Grant his story about Leah, she had retorted with a question of her own: ”Do you really think what you feel for Leah is romantic love?”

He hadn’t understood at the time, so she pressed on, ”Do you think about her every day? Does it hurt when you can’t see her? Does your heart leap every time your phone buzzes, thinking it’s her, only to sink in disappointment when it’s not? Are you sure that when your heart aches for her, it’s out of love, and not pity?”

Chester Hale had opened his mouth, but found he couldn’t answer. Because for every one of her first few questions, the only person who had come to his mind was Nathan Grant.

All these years that Nathan Grant was in Kingsford, even though they had no contact, Chester Hale had still found ways to keep up with news about her, one way or another.

”Do you know about Aunt Mabel and Uncle Tobias?” Asher Keating asked, lighting a cigarette.

”I know a little,” Chester Hale answered, recalling the memory. ”After I learned Leah was their child, my parents mentioned a few things, but they weren’t very specific. My mom just sighed and said it was ’such a shame.’”

”So, don’t let the regrets of the past repeat themselves in your own life.” Asher Keating stood up, patted Chester Hale on the shoulder, and walked toward Ethan Shaw and the others.

Chester Hale’s pupils constricted. He turned to look toward Nathan Grant, only to catch her hastily turning her head away. He pursed his lips, stood up, and strode in her direction.

Catching sight of Chester Hale approaching out of the corner of her eye, Nathan Grant stood up abruptly and headed for the exit. Chester caught up to her in just a few strides. ”Nash, I need to talk to you.”

”I have nothing to say to you,” Nathan Grant said, averting her gaze.

Chester Hale frowned. He glanced over and saw Asher Keating’s group watching them with undisguised interest. He lowered his voice and said, ”Come outside with me so we can talk properly. Unless you’d rather I carry you out of here in front of everyone.”

Startled by his threat, Nathan Grant let him lead her out the main entrance in a daze. Staring at his hand holding hers, she felt a spark ignite within her heart.